John Gardiner Richards Jr.

John Gardiner Richards Jr.
96th Governor of South Carolina
In office January 18, 1927 – January 20, 1931
Lieutenant	Thomas Bothwell Butler
Preceded by	Thomas Gordon McLeod
Succeeded by	Ibra Charles Blackwood
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from Kershaw County
In office January 10, 1899 – January 10, 1911
Personal details
Born	(1864-09-11)September 11, 1864 Liberty Hill, South Carolina, C.S.A.
Died	October 9, 1941(1941-10-09) (aged 77) Liberty Hill, South Carolina

John Gardiner Richards Jr. (September 11, 1864 – October 9, 1941) was the 96th Governor of South Carolina from 1927 to 1931.

He was born in Liberty Hill, South Carolina, on September 11, 1864, to John G. Richards and Sophia Edwards Smith.

He attended schools in Liberty Hill and North Carolina's Bingham Military Institute for a short time.

In 1898, he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. In 1910, he was appointed as the South Carolina Railroad Commissioner.

The South Carolina Constitution had been amended in 1926 to give the governor a four-year term, and Richards became the first South Carolina governor elected for a four-year term. His time as governor was noted for his strict observance of Blue laws, even chastising golfers for playing on Sunday.^[1]

He died on October 9, 1941, in Liberty Hill, South Carolina.

• SCIway Biography of Governor John Gardiner Richards
• South Carolina Encyclopedia Biography of Governor John Gardiner Richards
• Letter written in 1926 by John G. Richards